


Graduation- A Loki Family One Shot

by funygirl38



Series: The Path [8]
Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Asgard, Family, Gen, Graduation, High School, Midgard, New York City, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-04-14 14:19:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4567713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funygirl38/pseuds/funygirl38
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-"Divided" Loki, Eidra and Fen are on Midgard for a short holiday to witness Brenna's graduation from Xavier's school but other issues are coming to the surface. Loki meets with Tony Stark where he is introduced to project Controlled Chaos and is given his first look at the portal blueprints. Brenna, meanwhile, has a lot to cope with, graduation, the prospect of returning to Asgard for two seasons as she promised her father, and a broken heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Would you like me to take your um....trunks into the bedroom ma'am?”  
Eidra glanced at the closed bedroom door, “No, no. Just leave them there, thank you.”  
“Alright then, enjoy your stay. Call the front desk if there's anything you need,” the valet nodded to her as he backed toward the suite door.  
“Wait! Here you are. Thank you for your help,” Brenna hurried forward, pressing a few bills into his hand.  
“And thank you,” he smiled, a bit broader this time, shutting the door behind him.  
“You cannot forget gratuity, Mama.”  
Eidra dismissed Brenna's advice with a wave of her hand, “Yes of course I shall remember. I must procure a few of your Midgardian coin .... Oh...it is as if the sky has settled upon Midgard. So many lights, so many people.”  
She had joined Fen at the tall windows that bordered the suite's main living area and they now stood staring out at the myriad lights of New York.  
Brenna leaned her forehead against the window, straining to see the streets below, “Does Papa have to be so cross every single time he comes to Midgard?”  
Eidra stepped back to regard the bedroom door once more, “You know he is out of his element here. Do not judge him harshly.”  
“You too are out of your element and you behave far better than him,” Brenna drew herself away from the chaos of the city, dropping to the large sectional which dominated the living room, “It is only for a few days, just until graduation, then we shall return home. Tony has promised to show us the town, as they say, while we are here. Does that not sound exciting?”  
“It does indeed!” Fen was still glued to the window, “Every time we have come to Midgard we are left to wander that stuffy old school of yours. What shall we do first?”  
“We shall sleep,” Eidra cut in, twining Fen's arm with hers, “It is night...”  
“...and everyone is still awake, look!” Fen pointed out the window, “Tony said we could...”  
“Oh do address him respectfully, the both of you. He is Mister Stark if you please and it matters not what he said we might do. He is not here right now, thank the gods. His presence would put your father into such a mood we might never break him from until we returned to Asgard. He will be here on the morrow,” Eidra drew Fen from the window, “ and your father has a meeting with him first thing. We have to dress shop with Miss Potts.”  
“Might I go with father?”  
“You may not,” Brenna crossed her legs beneath her, “On Midgard a proper suit is required for such a ceremony and we cannot fit you in absentia.”  
Fen flopped face down on the couch with a loud groan, “Odin's beard!”  
“Fenris! Watch your tongue!” Eidra neared the bedroom door, “Lest your father hear you an' his wrath far outstrip mine own. Now choose your rooms and settle in. I am going to try and steer your father toward calmer waters.”

 

Before she had chance to set foot in the bedroom Eidra was certain there would be no settling Loki for he too had been at the windows surveying the city, was still standing there in fact, with his back to the door, his arms folded, shoulders hard set.  
She eased the door shut and glided to his side though she said nothing. Better to let him speak first, gauge his mood.   
After a moment he gestured toward the glass, “ 'Tis deliberate.”  
Horrified, she felt her bottom lip quiver, so close was she to giggling but her humor turned quickly to shame as he massaged the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. She knew what Loki had endured during his brief insanity on Midgard from what he had told her and then only in short snippets here and there when the melancholy overtook him while in his cups late at night or after a particularly taxing day when his mind seemed to overflow.  
“I do not think Mister Stark meant to upset you,” Eidra walked to the window which seemed nearly parallel with the topmost floor of Stark Tower a half mile distant.  
“Did he not now? Do you not believe this view was meant to remind me of what has been?”   
She jumped as his hand smacked the glass hard beside her head, “He knows you are not what you were then. 'Tis....”  
“Oh do not placate me woman!” Loki spun about, “ 'Tis an immense warning sign hanging in the sky for me to see. Could he not have placed us in another apartment? His watchdogs already patrol the hotel lobby.”  
“They are not his watchdogs,” Eidra sat down on the bed, her hands reaching out for his, “They are Fury's guards and they are here for our safety. Thor said so.”  
“And if my oaf of a brother said we should be welcomed with a grand fete and be given command of the city itself would you believe him then?”  
His arms stayed folded at his chest and she gave a loud sigh, “Loki, the view from this bedroom is hardly the issue with which we must concern ourselves. Your daughter is graduating from school here on Midgard. We are here for her. Do not make this trip about you.”  
He grunted then fell silent, taking a seat beside her on the mattress. She leaned against him, her chin on his shoulder, “Try to enjoy yourself. In the very least, pretend to do so for Brenna. She is thrilled to have you here to witness such an accomplishment...”  
“An accomplishment on Midgard, bah! This realm is a fool's paradise. I would much prefer to see her a lady upon Asgard...”  
“And that too shall come to pass. She promised you now let us retire for the morrow promises an early start.”  
Loki only sat there, staring out the window, a scowl fixed upon his face as she rose from the bed. Squaring her shoulders, she trudged to the bedroom door and out into the living area to fetch their trunk. Before she could reach for the handle however, Loki brushed her aside, hefting the trunk by himself and carrying it into the bedroom.  
“If I am to endure this realm, it will not be alone whilst you nurse a sprained back at this overblown inn,” he grumbled, setting the trunk down with a muffled thud.  
Eidra hid a smile as she bent down to unlatch the lid. Loki was nothing if not a gentleman and her presence was always the right foil for his temper. This was going to be a good trip.

 

“This is going to be a disaster!”  
Brenna lay stomach down on the bed in the room she'd chosen, looking up at the night sky through the tall windows which dominated the walls, her phone on the coverlet beside her.  
“No it's not,” came Sophie's reply, “It's going to be the best time our lives. No more homework, no more tests, no extra credit, no running laps in gym for the physically challenged. We made it.”  
Brenna shrugged, “Is college not the same as high school?”  
“Well no.....I mean yeah but no. It's harder, it's easier to flunk out and wind up stocking shelves in a convenience store for the rest of your life...damnit Brenna do you have to suck the joy out of everything?”  
“Forgive me. I too am looking forward to finishing school but you know I have promised my father I would return home to Asgard for two seasons before I am able to begin college so for me this is rather an extended vacation, not to mention he is here to see me graduate and you know how fractious he can be. I am, as you would say, stressed beyond words.”  
“You're overthinking this. You know that...”  
“Then there is Chase to worry about. What if he shows up to watch the graduation and my father sees him? The last thing I need is a confrontation between them....what was between us is just that, between us.”  
“He wouldn't get within a hundred yards of you with both your parents there. He's chickenshit.”  
“I would call it wise....what if he brings that wench with him?”  
“Brenna, he may not even show up. Listen you want me to take the train in to town and we'll go out for a bit?”  
“No, 'tis late and I doubt I would be allowed to stray far with my parents here...”  
There came a soft rap on her bedroom door and Fen poked his head inside, “Can I come in?”  
“I am on the phone,” Brenna hissed, “Whatever do you want?”  
“I am hungry and I do not know how to call for something to eat.”  
She could hear Sophie giggling, “His voice has changed already hasn't it.”  
“Yes it has....Fen it is too late to call for food. You will have to wait for breakfast.”  
“But I am hungry.”  
Brenna sat up on the bed, “Could you not wait for me to finish my phone call? We will venture to the lobby and see if we cannot find something. A candy bar perhaps. You like those. Now go to your room so I might have some privacy!”  
Scowling, Fen shut the door hard and Brenna winced, waiting for her mother to come sailing into the bedroom demanding to know what was wrong but all was silent.  
“Listen I have to go anyway. It's getting late and my mother is picking me up tomorrow to go shopping too. Maybe we can meet up somewhere.”  
“I shall try my very best but I think we have a set agenda tomorrow. We are with Miss Potts.”  
“Alright then just tell me when you are where you are and we'll try to cross paths. Get some sleep kiddo.”  
“Again, I will try.”  
“Night.”  
Brenna lay there for some time after she'd hung up with Sophie, her mind conjuring the endless disastrous possibilities an extended stay with her parents on Midgard could entail when there came a knock on her door once more, this time softer before Fen poked his head into the room once more.  
“You are finished talking to your phone now. Might we find something to eat?”  
Brenna sat up, “You little worm! Were you listening outside the door?”  
“No..” Fen muttered, his eyes dropping to the floor, “I only heard silence.”  
“Then you were listening,” Brenna stood from the bed, slipping on her flip flops, “Which is frightfully rude. I should tell Papa.”  
“I swear I did not hear what you were talking about,” Fen whined, “Please do not tell Papa.”  
Brenna regarded Fen. In a season and a half, he would be a man in the eyes of the Asgardian people but now he sounded every bit the young boy he was.  
She waved at the bedroom door, “I shant unless I catch you doing so again then I shall tell all. Go on with you. A quick trip down to the lobby then to bed. Tomorrow promises to be a long day.”


	2. 2

“I still don't see why you gave Foster the weekend off. Don't you maybe think he should get...I don't know....acclimated to these people if he's going to be living among them?”  
Stark squinted at the screen before him. Maybe it was time to give in to the modern convenience of Lasik...or maybe Pepper was right; he was simply getting old. He shook his head, swiping a graph table out of his view to sit at the far right corner of the screen.  
“He'll have plenty of time to acclimate when he's there. What I don't see is the need to scare him more than he already is. We need him on board with this project. Say Simon meets Destructo who just happens to be in a bad mood rare as that may be and he has one of his panic attacks...see where I'm going with this? It'll just be that much harder with him when it's go time.”  
Bruce shrugged, “I can't say as I want to be here either but here I am...”  
“And I know why. Because you love it. You love seeing Loki play nice because if he doesn't he'll have to answer to his wife. You enjoy seeing him under the influence of a weapon far more powerful than anything we could dream up.”  
“What would that be?”  
“Sex.”  
“Yeah right,” Bruce adjusted his screen, tapping the model of a small cube which began to rotate, “I'm here because you made me an offer I'd be a fool to refuse. I'm just saying if I were Simon, I'd rather know what I was facing.”  
Stark glanced up at the video feed from the tower parking garage. Still quiet.  
“If there's anything I've learned from New York it's that you can't prepare for every contingency.”

 

Loki peered through the open door into the interior of the long black car where sat a heavyset man with curly salt and pepper hair. He was dressed in a dark blue suit. Upon the right lapel was pinned a badge which read “Stark Industries” with his picture underneath next to a bar code. He sported a pair of dark glasses that reflected the ivory rope lights lining the interior of the limousine.  
“Mister Stark sends his apologies that he couldn't be here to accompany you upon the ride to the lab. He's been extremely busy lately with the new...project but he awaits your arrival most eagerly.”  
“Papa,” Fen hurried forward, practically leaping into the limo to settle in to the leather seats, “If we do not hurry, we will not have time to see the city later!”  
Eidra leaned into the limo nodding at the man, “Greetings, Mister Hogan. 'Tis lovely to see you again.”  
“Happy, please. The pleasure is all mine.”  
Eidra fixed Fen with the most serious mien she could muster, “Be sure to thank Mister Stark for allowing you to go with your father. I still believe you should come with us. If your suit fits you ill, 'twill be no fault but your own.”  
“Rest assured ma'am Mister Stark's tailor is a miracle worker. His measurements will be enough,” Happy nodded to the eager young man, “Now if you'll excuse us, Mister Stark has a very strict schedule and he's a bear when we deviate from it.”  
Eidra kissed her fingertips and planted them on Fen's cheek before retreating to allow Loki access.   
“Have fun Papa,” Brenna waved at them before trotting off to the second limo in line behind the first where Pepper was standing at the open door talking to the chauffeur.  
Before Loki could lower himself inside to take the seat beside Fen however, Eidra had his hand in hers, her lips pressed to his ear, “Please, show Fen what it is to be a true prince. Lead by example.”  
Loki squeezed her hand, trying to drive the edge from his voice, “I will be on my best behavior.”   
“I know you shall. We will see you at the evening meal.”  
Loki watched her to Brenna's side before he at last sank into the seat beside Fen and the door shut behind him.  
“The city is so noisy,” Fen stared out the window behind his head, “The horseless carriages and their horns, the people...everyone trying at once to be heard..”  
“ 'Tis no different in Asgard...,” Loki muttered, “Save for the horrendous fumes which pollute the air from those metal monsters.”  
Loki cast a glance toward Happy waiting for a reaction but the man sat there, hands folded in his lap, regarding them, his eyes unreadable behind dark sunglasses.  
But for Fen's constant chatter, the ride would have settled into an uncomfortable silence.  
“Papa, might we travel to the island with the statue of the lady upon it this time?”  
“No.”  
“Papa, look at the man playing the fiddle just there..”  
“Mmm..”  
“Papa, Mama said we might go to one of the marketplaces to find a memento of our adventure..”  
“So she did...”  
At last Happy spoke up, “How old are you, son?”  
“I am eleven seasons.....well nearly so.”  
“Huh...time flies.”  
Loki glared at Happy though Fen was oblivious to the caustic remark.  
“I will be a man soon when I am turned twelve.”  
Happy looked over the tops of his sunglasses first at Fen then at Loki, “You don't say. Twelve years old?”  
“Yes,” Fen sat straighter in the seat, “After my rite of passage I will be allowed to participate in rituals with my father and the rest of the elders. I can join in the wild hunt, purifications in the sweat lodge, I may attend the High Council meetings and lend my voice to the proceedings...”  
“You're pretty well spoken for a kid,” Happy grunted, “You sure you ain't twelve already?”  
Fen giggled at the jibe but Loki was far from amused.  
“We school our children well on Asgard, Mister Hogan! We are far from barbarous savages contrary to what you might have been led to believe.”  
Happy held up his hand, “Honestly, I don't know jack about Asgard, sir. All's I am is the head of security at Stark Industries. The only thing I gotta know is how to do my job properly.”  
“Indeed,” Loki spat, arms crossed in front of his chest, “And does not doing your job properly require you to know the charges you are securing?”  
At this Happy gave a slow smile, “Now that's where you got me wrong, sir. I know all about _you_.”  
The limousine took a right hand turn into a parking garage leaving the frantic noisy city streets behind as it descended into the bowels of Stark Tower, through a gate and past a gatehouse in which stood a serious looking young man sporting a bulletproof vest over a dark blue security officer's uniform. At last the limo rolled to a stop outside a set of green elevator doors.  
“Here we are,” Happy nodded as the limousine door swung open, “Home sweet home.”


	3. 3

“Miss Potts! We've been expecting you. Welcome to Bergdorf Goodman's Fifth avenue salon.”  
Pepper pasted on the biggest smile she could muster, “Stanley, it's wonderful to see you again. Allow me to introduce my guests. This is Eidra and her daughter Brenna. They're here to dress shop. Brenna is graduating...”  
“...from a private school, yes. Mister Stark phoned us this morning. Goodness it's nearly impossible to tell which one of you lovely ladies is our student.”  
Brenna raised her hand, giggling at the blush which rose to her mother's cheeks, “ 'Tis I.”  
With a tight lipped grin, Stanley clapped his hands together, “Very good then. Please follow me.”  
As they filed along in a line behind Stanley past mirrored walls, tables arrayed with fine handbags, costume jewelry on clear acrylic stands, mannequins dressed in exotic evening dresses, party frocks, Brenna stole a look at her mother's reflection and frowned. Her mother, ever the confident, proud woman kept her eyes trained on the mottled black carpet under their feet, avoiding the stares of sales clerks busy with other patrons, beautiful women looking down their noses at them all the while smiling at Miss Potts, the only woman who seemed to measure up to their scrutiny.  
Brenna caught up to her mother and took her arm, hugging it tight with her own, “Mama, look around at all the pretty dresses. That blue one just there on that fake person, it would match your eyes perfectly.”  
Eidra glanced at the mannequin as they passed by, “Do you think so?”  
“I do, now hold your head up high, Mama..,” Brenna leaned over to whisper in her mother's ear, “You are the wife of a prince of Asgard which makes you a princess by marriage. Be proud.”  
A smile stole to her mother's lips and she squeezed Brenna's hand at her elbow, “It is not proper to be proud. One must tinge pride with a healthy dose of humility.”  
“Yes, Mama,” Brenna murmured, noting with satisfaction, however, that her mother now looked about the salon with a bit more confidence.

 

“Well look at you. You've just shot right up!”  
Loki laced his hands together behind his back, his irritation at its peak as he watched Stark clap Fen on the shoulder.  
“My mother says I shall be as tall as my father, is that not right, Papa?”  
“Indeed,” Loki scanned the room into which they'd been ushered before his gaze returned to Stark and Banner, the latter giving his complete attention to the tablet in his hand, “I daresay we are not here to discuss my son's progress, however.”  
“Nope, you're right,” Stark turned away from Fen to tap the upper right corner of an immense transparent screen hanging on the wall before them, “We're here to discuss the....before we continue can I say how utterly surreal this is for us? Bruce? You with me?”  
“Yup.”  
Stark waved his hand between the tablet and Bruce's face, “Time to pay attention to the nice man, son.”  
“What, I said yes. Surreal,” Bruce's eyes flickered to Loki's and quickly away, “Just give me a minute.”  
Stark winked at Loki, “Last second this guy. So, yeah, surreal.”  
Loki pulled Fen close to his side, “I fail to see what has so thoroughly flummoxed you. If 'tis my presence, it is hardly a cause for alarm. I am somewhat of a frequent traveler to this realm as of late, more's the pity.”  
Stark threw his hand into the air to set spinning a large green neon diagram of a sloping platform, “Oh I'm used to that. You're just like any other demi-god now save for your traveling arrangements but now you've been given the keys to the kingdom haven't you? I mean instead of dealing with big brother, we're negotiating with his second in command. You've come a long way....I mean at one point we would have been talking to you through metal...”  
“Fen,” Bruce interjected holding up his tablet while shooting Tony a dark glare, “Would you like to see what an energy matrix looks like?”  
“Yes, please,” Fen hurried to grab the tablet, intent upon every word Bruce said as Stark nodded.  
“Ah yeah. You get the idea. Glad to have you on our side.”  
Loki merely crossed his arms before him.  
“Okay, well let's look at the preliminary design for the portal shall we?”

 

“Mama, you look so beautiful!”  
Eidra gave Brenna a smirk, “So you have said for the last three dresses.”  
“And I speak the truth,” Brenna shrugged, “Would you have it any other way?”  
“Now you sound like your father,” Eidra smoothed the folds of the watered gray silk caftan, turned once more to the side to watch the skirt flow about her legs, “always the flatterer.”  
“You wound me,” Brenna put a hand to her chest in mock chagrin, “I have nothing to gain by flattery.”  
Pepper covered her mouth to stifle a giggle as Eidra shook a finger at Brenna, “Young lady, what your father gains is none of your business. 'Tis impolite to speak of such things in public.”  
“Oh Mama, do not be such a prude..”  
“Your mother is right,” Pepper inclined her head toward Stanley who wore an appraising look as he stood back from the dais which Eidra now occupied, “We have company.”  
“Don't mind me,” he murmured, “What happens at BG's stays at BG's. I think this is a good look for you, Madam...any thoughts? Miss Potts?”  
“Ah that fine Stanley. I trust your judgment implicitly.”  
“Excellent. I'll have the dress wrapped up for you. Madam, you may step down now.”  
Brenna studied the lanky sales clerk's simpering smile as he led her mother back to the dressing rooms behind the trifold mirrored wall. If Miss Potts had said the dress was absolute tripe, he would have agreed with her, sending the young woman assisting him off for another selection. Her father had warned her of such ilk in the courts at Asgard, that she would need to guard against being too familiar with those who seemed to exist merely to stroke her ego.  
“And now the young lady,” Stanley offered Brenna his hand. She took it, repulsed to find it limp and slightly clammy though she maintained her decorum, allowing him to lead her to the dressing rooms before extracting her hand from his grasp.  
“I'll have my assistant gather a few selections for you. Something in blue to bring out the color in your eyes.”  
Brenna wanted to correct him, wanted to tell him her eyes tended toward turquoise but she held her tongue, stepping into the spacious dressing stall.  
“Did you like the dress, truly?” came her mother's voice from the stall beside her.  
“Yes, Mama. You look a vision...unh....Papa will love it.”  
“I feel embarrassed to let Mister Stark buy such finery. I have dresses at home which would have suited this occasion..”  
Brenna slid her jeans to the carpet, “He is happy to do it. He is such a gracious man if only Papa would realize how wonderful he has been to me these past three seasons here on Midgard....besides, your court dress would seem an All Hallow's Eve costume. Our mode of dress is terribly outdated. You know this.”  
“How well I know....”  
Brenna looked down to see her mother's slippers standing outside the dressing room door.  
“But it does not change how I feel. The man works for his coin same as any Asgardian and I feel a thief taking it from him without recompense.”  
“Mama, shhh...remember what I said about the A-word. He has received recompense, rest assured,” she touched the Uruz at her throat, “Now go sit with Miss Potts. She enjoys your company.”  
“A pity Lily could not have joined us for this trip. Be sensible with your choice, poppet.”  
“I will, Mama.”  
She watched the slippers move away from the door to be replaced moments later by Stanley's shiny black shoes, “Knock, knock. I have a nice selection for you. I'll hand them to you over the door and you come out when you're ready. If you need help give us a shout, my assistant will be just outside.”  
Brenna took the armful of dresses with a sigh. Her mother's polite laughter drifted back to her as she pulled off her t-shirt and took the first dress, a midnight blue halter affair, from its hanger. She was more than ready to point at any one of them, be done with the whole process and out on the town. After all, these were her last days living on Midgard for two seasons and she was determined to enjoy them.

 

“...okay then look at it as...geez, Banner can you explain this in layman's terms?”  
Banner wiped his forehead with his sleeve then pointed at the hologram of the portal with its cubes floating in a circle over the base, “Uh....um...okay, okay it's like when the sun goes down what do you do? Turn on a light right? You recreate that same luminescence with a piece of tungsten and electricity....”  
Loki studied Banner for a long moment before muttering, “We light a lamp with a flint.”  
Banner ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, “Okay tungsten, kerosene, whatever..”  
“Fish liver or whale oil...”  
“Alright the point I'm trying to make here is that what we've done with your daughter's necklace is recorded the power output when it's active and recreated the same level here in the lab by magnetic resonance......no? How about this...we were able to copy what the thing did.”  
“Ah.”  
“Well that was certainly painful,” Stark brought his hands together, shrinking the hologram until it fit in the palm of his hand, holding it out to Fen who let the hologram glide to his own open palm, his eyes wide, “You have the rules and regulations from the king correct?”  
“With my things at the Inn.”  
“At the Inn....you know, you're pretty funny when you want to be...”  
Loki frowned, “It was not meant to be humorous.”  
“And that's what makes it so great. You're a natural. After dinner this evening I'll slip up to your rooms and fetch them along with any blueprints we might need. Got to know what to build where. The last thing I want to do is overstep my bounds.”  
Here it was Loki's turn to laugh though there was little mirth in his retort, “I hardly believe overstepping your bounds is first and foremost on your mind either on Midgard, Asgard or any of the nine realms. You have well proven the opposite to be true.”  
Stark gave him a wide smile as he lifted the hologram from Fen's hand, “Now I'm not so bad once you get to know me.”  
“Perish the thought,” Loki's hand returned to Fen's shoulder, “I am here on my brother's business. This is hardly a social call.”  
“Oh don't get me wrong. I'm all biz myself,” he winked at Fen, “But there's always time for play. What ya got planned for fun now? We got the afternoon to fritter away before we meet the ladies for dinner I think.”  
“I am perfectly content returning to the Inn,” Loki grumbled, feeling Fen's shoulders slump beneath his fingers.  
“I had so hoped to see the island with the statue of the lady upon it. I have ever only seen it from the shore.”  
Loki shook his head, “We need not take up Mister Stark's time. We will return to the Inn if you please. I have told you before. We are here for your sister.”  
Stark looked at Banner who simply closed his eyes and turned away to the safety of his computer screen.  
“Hey I'm yours for the day,” Stark bent over to Fen, “You want to see the lady on the island then we're going to see the lady on the island but we're going to do it in style. In fact,” Stark pulled up his sleeve revealing a black wrist band, “I'm going to give you the grand tour. Happy?”  
“Yessir?” Happy's voice filled the room.  
“I want the landing pad extended. I'll need a chopper in ten. On our way up.”  
“A chopper? Is everything alright, sir?”  
“Yup,” Stark stood up, “We're going for a ride. Fen, how would you like to see the lady from the sky?”  
Fen's mouth popped open, his hand gripping his father's at his shoulder, “From the sky? In the big metal birds I have seen on the moving paintings...I mean the television?”  
“Well...not the big ones, you can't see very good from them and you can't fly as close to the statue. People still get uptight about low flying jets. No we're going to use a helicopter.”  
“No!” Loki hissed. He'd managed at last to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth, “Absolutely not!”  
“Papa please!” Fen cried, all pretense of gentility vanished as he turned, tugged at the sleeve of Loki's suit jacket, “I have always wanted to see the land from the air! I shall never ask for another thing so long as I live!”  
“I've heard that before,” Stark held his arms wide, “Come on. I know you aren't afraid of flying. I know that for a fact. He'll love it. We'll see the Central Park zoo and all the animals, well most of them. The Empire state building, Broadway, Times Square, Grand Central Station...”  
Loki ground his teeth together, biting off a particularly vituperative retort, “I fear nothing save the safety of my son in your flying metal cages...”  
“I have a veteran pilot flying one of the safest aircraft in the world. I swear to you he will have the time of his life.”  
Loki massaged his temples as Fen tugged once more upon his sleeve, “Papa, please.”  
When he looked up again, Stark was smiling.  
“Jarvis, you have the com.”  
“Aye, aye, sir.”


	4. 4

“Do not let go of my hand until we are aboard this ludicrous contraption!” Loki shouted above the thrup thrup of the rotor blade mere feet above their heads, images from a distant dark afternoon swimming just below the surface of his subconscious.   
“Papa, we are so very high,” Fen's grip tightened to iron as they climbed aboard the blue Bell 412 helicopter followed close behind by Stark and Happy.  
At the edge of the landing pad stood Banner, hands shoved in the pockets of his corduroys. Stark motioned him forward but he merely shook his head.  
“His loss,” Stark hauled himself inside, “Let's go.”

 

Eidra watched Brenna twirl about in a sun yellow strapless dress, her mind far afield until Pepper gave her a gentle nudge, “I think I liked the maroon one better.”  
Eidra blinked, turned to Pepper, “Excuse me?”  
Pepper nodded toward Brenna who was now holding the skirt of the dress wide in her hands, “I think the maroon dress looked better on her, more tasteful.”  
“Oh, indeed. Forgive me...I was thinking of the children. I do hope they're getting on well without me. I worry so about Brynn. Ingrid is a fine nursemaid and Helgi is a great help but I am rarely absent from them for more than a day or so as of late.”  
“Try the maroon one on once more,” Pepper called to Brenna before turning back to Eidra, “You could have brought them with you. We could have hired a sitter.”  
“Oh no, no. Loki would not have had it. He is determined to keep the rest of our brood as far removed from Midgard as possible. Besides, this way we may concern ourselves with Brenna. It is her time.”  
“I am inclined to agree,” Brenna called from the dais, swirling the skirt of the long maroon halter dress, “This feels much nicer. It does not bind me so tightly.”  
“It has a lovely flow to it,” Stanley tapped his chin, “And the color accents her complexion.”  
“That's fine then. Brenna, get changed then we'll move on to the shoe salon,” Pepper stood from the plush black couch, “Can't have our guests going around barefoot.”

 

“Do you know the statue is one hundred fifty one feet from the tip of the torch to the base? What's that to you guys? You use rods right?....uh....a little over nine rods tall.”  
Fen's nose was pressed to the window, a smile on his face nearly obscured from view by the large headphones Happy had strapped onto his head, “So big! And her name is Liberty lighting the world?”  
“Enlightening,” Stark looked back at Fen, “It was sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and was given to America as a gift in eighteen eighty-six.”  
“Is that very long ago?”  
“It is to us,” Stark glanced at Loki who seemed to be staring at a fixed point behind the driver's seat, “That's over one hundred forty years ago.”  
“Seasons, right Papa?”  
“Mmm.”  
Fen twisted about in his seat to look at his father and Stark shook his head.  
“Papa are you not enjoying our ride?”  
“Completely.”  
“Hey, buddy. Look outside. Not everyone get's a birds eye view like this.”  
They banked to the left, coming around the front of the statue's head, so close they could see the people looking out the windows in the crown.  
“When I am older, I will come to Midgard and stand at the top of the statue,” Fen waved to the people as they passed by and out of sight.  
Stark watched Loki's eyes shut, his jaw tighten, “Alright now let's see where your old man wants to go. There's plenty of ground in downtown Manhattan. Want to see the Freedom Tower? Hell's Kitchen, Battery Park? We still got the zoo to flyover. You name it.”  
Silence.  
“Hey, big guy.”   
Loki opened his eyes to glare up at Stark.  
“Yeah you. What do you want to see?”  
“I would like to see my wife if it please you,” Loki muttered, the buzz in his head now a throbbing ache.  
“You want to see your wife huh? Hold that thought.”

 

Pepper nearly fumbled the bag the clerk was handing her when the phone in her pocket vibrated at her hip.  
“Damn, would you hold this just a moment?” Pepper fished about frantically, pulling the phone from her slacks on the fifth ring, “Hello? Tony?.........just finishing up, why?”  
Brenna looked at her mother, shrugged.  
“....alright.....now? Okay....”  
Pepper slid the phone back into her pocket, “Mister Stark would like everyone to step outside and look up.”  
“Look up. As in to the sky?” Eidra tilted her head, “Whatever for?”  
“I don't know. All he said was hurry up.”

 

They were speeding now over the city, the skyscrapers casting long shadows in the mid-afternoon sunlight, hiding the streets in darkness.  
“Lower,” Stark pointed out the window ahead of them, “We're almost there.”

 

Pepper, Brenna and Eidra stood on the sidewalk staring upward at the sky over Manhattan. The limousine driver had long taken their packages and packed them in the trunk.  
“I feel like a tourist,” Pepper sighed, “What is he up to?”  
None of them paid any attention to the thrup thrup of a helicopter in the distance, least of all Pepper. The sky above the city was rife with them, news and traffic, police, all in an effort to keep the city running smoothly. When the phone rang once more in Pepper's pocket, she already had her hand on it.  
“Hello?....we're outside yes and we are looking up without a clue. We look like a bunch of …...yes........you're kidding.........ah......oh boy.”  
Pepper touched Eidra on the shoulder and pointed at a lone helicopter making it's way up the street high overhead, “Wave to the helicopter. Your husband and son are aboard.”  
Eidra's hands flew to her mouth, “The gods wept! They are flying?”  
“Yes they are.”  
“That little worm!” Brenna cried, “I knew there was a reason he did not want to come with us.”

 

“There. There they are!” Stark gestured to Loki, “Look, look. There's your wife, there's Brenna and Pepper.”  
Loki leaned forward, searching the street ahead of them until he found her standing there on the sidewalk waving frantically, a hand to her chest. They were still far below but he could see her smile, the soft wavy curls of her chestnut hair.  
A slow grin spread to his lips as they passed overhead.  
“And that was all it took to make you happy?”  
With Stark's words, the veil dropped again and Loki sat back in the seat, his face dark, “Content yes. Happy, no. I would prefer my feet on solid ground once more.”  
“The zoo first. I promised the kid.”  
Fen was staring out the window, trying to see behind them, “Brenna is going to be so very angry with me.”  
“She'll get a ride someday. I promise. Now let's find you some animals them we'll head back to command central. Gotta get ready for dinner.”


	5. 5

“Mister Stark. Right this way. Your table is waiting.”  
“Thank you, Marty,” Stark winked at the waiter before ushering them into the restaurant, “You guys will love this place. Brenna's been here with us a couple times.”  
Loki looked at Brenna but she was ahead of him, even with Eidra and Pepper. Fen was taking in his surroundings in usual fashion, his head a-swivel, his mouth open. The urge to grab Eidra's hand and hold tight was maddening. He felt exposed, out of his element. All eyes were on them as they passed table after table, Stark nodding to one person, clapping hands with another, their pace painfully slow until at last they were shown to a large round table near a balcony at the far end of the cavernous room.  
In the white marble balcony, a small group of musicians sat playing a light air which drifted down to the group increasing the feeling of uneasiness. Loki pulled out Eidra's chair, guiding her to sit before taking the seat beside her and resting his hand upon her leg.  
She turned to him, her hand coming to rest atop his as she leaned to his ear, “My love, you are all a-tremble. Are you unwell?”  
Loki scanned the group but all attention was on Stark as he spoke to the waiter who had hurried over to the table almost before they'd had a chance to be seated.  
“I am fine,” he whispered, relishing the close proximity of her lips, the kiss she planted upon the shell of his ear.  
“Have no fear. I am with you,” she cooed before sitting back in her seat.  
The waiter placed a black leather bound menu before each of them as he made his way round the table. Fen opened it to stare at the writing, turning to Brenna after a moment, “I cannot read it. Help me.”  
“If I must,” Brenna took the menu from his hands.  
Eidra nudged Loki, her eyes straying to the closed menu in front of her, “I too will need assistance.”  
“Here let me help you,” Stark slid the menu from the table to lay it open, “You like steak?”  
The musicians overhead had moved to another tune, the beginning strains familiar, growing more so as they played on. Loki closed his eyes, his head swimming, the conversation in the room a buzz which sent his mind on a convoluted path backward.   
_“Loki, drop your weapon..”_  
…he shook his head.  
_“....there are no men like me.....”  
“In the end....”_  
Loki searched the table for the glass of water the waiter had set at each place, lurched forward in a clumsy grab at the stemware which tipped over spilling ice and water across the linen tablecloth. He pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, the music like a clarion inside his head. Stark was on his feet as well. The waiter was already on the return path to the table. Now all eyes were on him. He felt Eidra's hand on his arm.  
“Loki?”  
“You look paler than usual,” Stark was at his chair now, “You gonna be sick? You want to use the facilities?”  
Loki stared at Stark, the memories flooding his body with adrenaline, his heart racing, “The music must stop..”  
His tongue felt heavy, words stopped behind a floodgate. Stark gestured to the waiter, “You want to show my friend the men's room. I think he might be about to spill more than his water.”  
Eidra rose from her chair, taking Loki's hand, “I shall go with him. Please forgive us.”  
Stark stayed on his feet though he waved them off, “It's fine. Take your time. We'll wait for you.”  
As they followed the waiter away from the table, Stark sat back down next to Pepper, ignoring her look of concern, nodding to Brenna who had set her menu down to watch her father, “Ok kiddo. Made your choice yet?”

 

The hollow sound of water in the wash basin of the men's room made a soothing burble. He splashed a handful onto his face, avoiding his reflection in the long mirror which dominated the entire wall behind the counter. At his back, one of the stall doors opened, an older gentleman stepping out to wash his hands in the basin beside Loki in silence before leaving the room.  
The door creaked open and Eidra slipped inside, scanning the stalls as she glided over to Loki, concern a mask upon her face.  
“Loki, goodness what has come over you?”   
There was a shuffling sound and a thump as one of the stall doors swung open and a young man made a quick escape, mumbling, “This isn't a fucking co-ed john,” before shoving the bathroom door wide and exiting into the restaurant.  
Loki, his hands flat on the marble countertop as he leaned over the washbasin, looked at Eidra's reflection in the mirror.  
“I felt...”  
What had he felt? Shock. Anger. The urge to snap the neck of a portly gentleman who had been staring at him as he rushed by on his way to the bathroom. More than this. Disgust. Fear, yes a good ration of fear, not of this plagued realm but of himself, his temper, the ease with which the memories came flooding back to him, the insistence of Stark that they stay within view of the very spot he'd found himself at the lowest point in his life.  
“I felt ill.”  
Eidra pressed her hand against his cheek, turning his face to hers, “I will ask Mister Stark to bring us to the inn. I am certain he shall oblige.”  
But Loki shook his head, “Better to ask him to let us return home. We do not belong here. Neither you nor I, not Brenna, Fen. We should all be back on Asgard!”  
The bathroom door creaked open and an older gentleman started in before spying Eidra and closing the door once more with a muffled, _“Excuse me!”_  
“Loki, do you not think I feel this as strongly as do you? Can you not forbear Brenna one more day? Tomorrow is graduation then we may leave for home. Now if you wish, we will return to the inn as I said.”  
“No, I will not deprive the children of a meal through no fault of their own.”  
Eidra drew his forehead to her own and as they stood there together for a long moment, a feeling of peace flooding through him.  
“Eidra, you are my strength.”  
He smiled at Eidra's soft chuckle, her whispered reply, “I believe 'tis quite the reverse.”  
Taking his hand, Eidra led him to the bathroom door, swinging it open to find Stark on the opposite side, reaching for the doorknob.  
“Oh good. Everything alright? I was just concerned. You know. Didn't want to leave you face down praying to the porcelain goddess, having a fit or something...”  
“Thank you for your concern,” Eidra gave Stark a short curtsey, “But everything is alright now.”   
Stark clapped his hands together, “Excellent. Then if you can find your way back to the table, I'm going to avail myself of the facilities. Might as well seeing as I'm here.”  
Stark watched them down the plush carpeted corridor and out of sight before tapping his wrist watch, “Jarvis?”  
“Yessir?”  
“Stand down. Everything's all good.”  
“Standing down, Sir.”


	6. 6

“Are you certain you will not return to the inn with us?” Eidra murmured, watching the headlights of the limousine skim the stone pillars of the front gate as they turned onto the school drive.  
“This is my last night here, Mama,” Brenna patted her knee, “You will soon have me all to yourself once more but it will be some time before I see my friends again. As it is I am to attend the graduates assembly in twenty minutes. You must ken how difficult it is to take your leave of the people you care about.”  
“Every time I left you here on Midgard...”  
Brenna lifted her mother's hand and pressed it to her lips, “Mama, you know how perfectly terrible I feel when you say such things.”  
“Good,” Eidra buried her nose into Brenna's hair, inhaling the strange perfume of shampoo, finding the scent of her firstborn buried beneath, “Perhaps such feelings will keep you grounded in Asgard.”  
Her eyes strayed to Loki's stony face, visible in the dim ivory rope lights which decorated the limo ceiling, “We cannot wait for your return home can we, Papa?”  
Loki's mouth transformed into a frown, “At last.”  
The limousine rolled to a stop at the front steps of the mansion, only then did Stark look away from the tablet which he'd been buried in the entire ride to the school, “We're here already?”  
“Yes,” Pepper shook her head, giving Eidra then Loki an apologetic look.  
“Oh....well, we'll see you tomorrow kid. I don't want to see you nursing a hangover in the a.m so no keg parties tonight. Don't forget your dress in the trunk.”  
“Ah yes. Thank you once again Mister Stark,” Brenna inched toward the door which had swung open.  
Stark waved at her, his attention returning to the tablet in his lap, “My pleasure.”  
Brenna climbed out into the early evening light of the setting sun, waiting as the driver unlocked the trunk.  
“Have you everything you need for this rite of graduation?”  
Brenna turned to see her father standing beside the car, arms folded, “Yes, Papa.”  
“Are you certain?”  
The driver came around the back of the car, a large white paper bag in his hand, “Would you like me to carry your packages inside, ma'am?”  
“No, thank you,” Brenna took hold of the sisal handles, casting a sideways glance at her father as she started up the steps, “I am certain. I will see you on the morrow then.”  
When she heard him clear his throat, she slowed to a stop, her knowing smile hidden by the dark waves of hair tumbling down her shoulder.  
“You have done well.”  
Her head came up and she pivoted about to regard him. They had come so very far in the past few seasons since “the incident” and she reveled in the new emotional freedom they felt with one another, cherished all the more as she watched her father's handsome face color ever so slightly, a smile dancing about his lips.  
“Thank you Papa...”  
She paused for a moment, wanting to say more but Sophie's voice scattered her thoughts to the winds.  
“Girl, we've got ten minutes to make it to the Hall. You're cutting it close!”  
Brenna glanced behind her at Sophie who stood in the mansion doorway, hands on her hips, “Were I cutting it close, I would not have ten minutes to spare. I will be along presently.”  
The sound of a car door shutting, brought Brenna back around. With a sigh, she watched the limo pull away from the steps, heading around the large circular drive on its way back to the city.  
“Come on, we're going to have to run for it!”  
Brenna trotted up the steps and into the mansion behind Sophie, “Are you aware you exaggerate in the extreme...?”

 

Fen gave a grunt and fell back to snoring as Loki settled once more beside him into the leather seat of the limo.  
“It's hard to accept, isn't it...”  
Loki looked at Stark who hadn't taken his eyes off the tablet, “I beg your pardon?”  
“Growing up. It's hard to accept the fact she's no longer a little girl...”  
Before Loki could reply, Stark continued, “If the truth be told though, it's you who've done well. After all, she wouldn't be who she is if you weren't who you are....,” Stark looked at Loki over the edge of his tablet, “I'm not being too vague am I?”  
Loki felt Eidra's hand steal into his and he gave it a hearty squeeze, “Not at all.”

 

“This is so much better,” Loki breathed, settling back against Eidra as the light from the TV faded away, leaving the bedroom bathed in the ambient light of the city below, “However can Midgardians stand the constant chatter of that damnable thing?”  
“ 'Twas a cooking lesson,” Eidra wrapped her arms around his neck, “Surely you cannot find fault in that?”  
“I could not make head nor tail of it,” Loki stroked her calf, “ 'Tis a wonder you could ken anything comes from that moving painting. You need lessons? Ask Gretten when we return home.”  
“Do you think my cooking so terrible?” she shoved at him playfully.  
“I said nothing of the sort,” he squeezed her knee, making her yelp, “I said there was nothing to be learned from such a jumbled mess. I much prefer my time be better spent..”  
They wrestled for a bit, laughing, their play turned to breathless ardor until they lay there limbs entwined, face to face, murmuring endearments to one another in the silken darkness, cloistered, until dawn, from the world beyond the bedroom door.


	7. 7

“Come in.”  
Sophie's face appeared around the door frame of Brenna's dorm room, “Now there's a rarity. You're never up before me. You did sleep last night didn't you?”  
“Yes,” Brenna grimaced. Sophie hadn't asked her exactly how much sleep she'd had and she didn't feel the need to share. Not today. In the center of her room, just beyond the door sat her trunk, a couple suitcases, a few boxes, all packed and ready to go after the graduation ceremony. In a few hours she would be back home on Asgard for a very long stay. If her father had his way, she might never leave again. Last night she'd lain in bed frittering away the evening thinking about how she could escape the drear of such a lackluster fate knowing all along that there was little she could do until her eyes drifted shut as the sun began to lighten the sky outside her window.  
“Are you gonna get some breakky? Come on. Last chance to get the fresh squeezed stuff. Now I'll have to send you oranges through Mister Stark.”  
“Oh must you remind me?” Brenna pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes to stop the angry tears, felt the bed sag beside her.  
“I'm sorry, hon,” Sophie draped her arm around Brenna's shoulders, “I was trying to make a funny. It sucks that you have to go back to Asgard.”  
Brenna gave a watery chuckle, “Not helping.”  
“I know I know. Ok mouth shut. Let's get down to the hall before the underclassmen get all the good stuff.”

 

“Must you fidget so?” Eidra clucked her tongue, straightening the collar of Fen's suit once more, “'Tis nearly time to leave.”  
“Fenris,” came Loki's voice through the open bathroom door, “I daresay you do not wish me to attend to you. Mind your mother.”  
“I am Papa, only these clothes make me itch,” Fen stuck a finger between the collar and his skin, readjusting it as quickly as his mother could straighten it again.  
“You will forbear until your sister is graduated then you may remove the shirt,” Loki emerged from the bathroom, his own shirt in hand, “The gods know I shall be ready to tear mine own asunder.”  
“See, Mama? Even Papa cannot bear it.”  
Eidra turned toward Loki to help him with his shirt, catching a glimpse of herself in the closet mirrors, “I am perfectly comfortable in my dress. If you had come with us to the clothiers, you could have had the collar altered to your liking. Instead you preferred to pretend you were a falcon.”  
Looking up at Loki, she caught the ghost of a smile, giving him a sharp poke in the ribs for it, “And as for your participation in the matter, you deserve a good beating.”  
Loki let his smile bloom. Nothing could rattle him today. By nightfall he would be at home in his own bed with his entire family beneath one roof, “Forgive me, my heart. 'Twas rather enjoyable. I could convince Stark to give you a ride as well.”  
“HA!” Eidra tugged at the button of his shirt, jabbing it into the button hole, “My feet will remain firmly upon solid ground thank you ever so much!”  
There came a sharp rap on the suite door and Loki nodded to Fen, “Ask who it is before you so much as touch the handle.”  
Fen grinned widely as he raced to the door, standing up on tiptoe to look through the peephole, “It is Mister Hogan. Shall I let him in?”  
Loki regarded Fen, “However do you know who is on the other side of that door. Can you now see through wood?”  
Fen grabbed the handle and turned it, “No, Papa. There is a tiny window through which I may view the hallway....just there. I found it the evening last.”  
Fen swung the door wide to reveal Happy, hands behind his back, peering over the rims of the sunglasses perched low on his nose, “I've been sent to fetch you. The car is at the front of the hotel.”  
“We shall be ready presently,” Loki sniffed, straightening the cuffs of his shirt.  
“Do come in Mister Hogan,” Eidra elbowed Loki as she sailed over to usher Happy into the room, pointing to a large dining room table in a corner off the kitchenette laid out with food , “Have you had your morning meal? They sent such a repast we could not hope to finish it all. Help yourself.”  
“Ah, I had a sweet roll earlier....and I'm on the job anyway,” Happy held his hands up, “Thank you though. I'll call the front desk for your trunks.”  
“We shant be long,” Eidra gazed about the suite, searching for the box which held her new shoes.  
“No problem,” Happy already had his phone to his ear, “.....hello? Yeah I need a redcap up to suite one-oh-one to take down some luggage............redcap...bellhop?.....attendant then, whatever, geez just send him up....,” Happy shoved the phone in his suit pocket, “Either they're too young or I'm too old.”  
Eidra grimaced as she slid her feet into the dressy shoes. She would surely have blisters by the end of the day, “My daughter claims that age is just a number...or so she has been told.”  
“And sometime it feels a large number indeed,” Loki shrugged the suit jacket over his shoulders, “Are we all together now? I wish this day to be over as soon as possible”  
There came another knock on the door, “That'll be the redcap.”  
“Splendid,” Loki muttered, “Then do let us be off.”


	8. 8

The skyscrapers had long ago given way to small towns interspersed with swaths of countryside. Eidra watched the scenery fly by outside the limo window, long ago having given up listening to Loki and Mister Stark's conversation. Most of it held no interest to her in the first place what with their talk of portals and the construction of the encampment on Asgard. Pepper had settled into the plush seat beside Stark and before they even entered the long tunnel that went under the river, she had fallen asleep. She was now snoring softly, her head lolling sideways to her shoulder, hands clasped together in her lap.  
“...he said he'd meet us there..”  
“Of course. Just what we needed.”  
Eidra glanced at Loki who wore a dour expression. She could see the stress in his posture, knew he would not relax until they were home, still she reached out to take his hand, felt his thumb slide across her knuckles.  
“Well he's family....”  
Loki grunted when Eidra tugged at his hand.  
“Hey you can't begrudge him wanting to watch his niece graduate can you?”  
“It hardly matters. The blond oaf will do what he wants.”  
“Papa, why do you call Uncle an oaf?” Fen piped up.  
Eidra returned her attention to the world outside her window, the large houses with the manicured lawns, shops along bustling village streets, a group of children laughing, screaming as they leaped through a strange wall of water spurting up from a small silver arch on the ground, an elderly couple walking an equally ancient looking yellow dog. Up ahead, the sky was starting to darken, it looked to be threatening rain. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.

 

…. “Mind your step...”  
Eidra grabbed at Loki's arm to steady herself, felt the weight of her rounded belly threaten to offset her balance.  
“I warned you the rocks would be slick. Take my hand.”  
Eidra looked up at Loki, heard the roar of the waterfall, their waterfall, touched the swell of her stomach and smiled. Her Brenna. Her firstborn still in the womb.   
Why were they here again?  
“Loki, have we not seen enough of the cavern?”  
Ahead of them, carved into the cliff face behind the waterfall, she could see the cleft in the rocks only now it looked far larger than she could recall...must have been in fact because they walked through the opening into the dark cavern beyond side by side.  
“I must know what it is lurks beneath the surface of the river,” Loki's voice had a muffled quality to it, as if he had covered his mouth with the collar of his cloak.  
“ 'Tis something best left alone and that is all we need know,” Eidra yanked at his hand but he would not slow his pace. The light inside the cavern was considerably brighter than she remembered, illuminating the vaulted ceiling, the glittering purple gemstones which peppered the cavern walls, the wide river, the water like an unsettled black ribbon as it rushed past them.   
Loki had stopped now and was standing atop the rocks at the water's edge. He'd let go of her hand. She reached out for his hand once more but he ignored her, riveted by a disturbance a short distance from the shoreline.  
“I shant be but a moment,” He turned to look at her and she stumbled backward, fear forcing a shriek from her throat. His eyes had darkened, the blue green replaced by ruby red, his skin fading, turning dusky even as he at last extended his hand toward her, “Stay at the water's edge, hold my hand.”  
She clapped her hand into his, trembling at icy coolness of his skin, “Please, let us leave....Loki!”  
He had stepped into the water, sinking nearly to his knees in the black current. A short distance away, the gray scaled back of some unknown creature broke the surface of the water.  
“Loki!” Eidra was frantic now, her breath ghosting in the air. The cavern was growing colder. She looked down at the wet rocks below her feet, terrified to see a skim of ice making its way to the water. All at once, her hand was free. Loki had moved further into the current, waist deep now, his hands outstretched before him.  
“LOKI! Come back!” she took a couple steps forward, stopping short of entering the water, “Please! I am frightened!”  
“No.....it is far too late,” he turned to look at her, his face, hands, dark blue, his stare hard crimson, and she was backpedaling, her feet slipping on the rocks as the water turned to ice around him....

 

“….Eidra?”  
She drew in great gulps of air, her lungs aching. Had she been holding her breath? She lifted her head from where it had been resting against the window to stare wide eyed around the interior of the limo at the concerned faces hovering about her, the afterimage of the dream fading away as Loki leaned into her field of vision and she shut her eyes once more to clear away the memory of those blood red eyes.  
“My heart,” he cupped her face in his hands, “Whatever darkness pursued you in your dream has vanished. Come here.”  
She shifted in the seat, burrowing beneath his arm, relief erasing all decorum as she lay her head on his chest, felt him draw her in closer.  
“Your arms are cold as stone!” He leaned forward, removing his suit jacket to drape about her shoulders.  
“Ah it's the AC in these beasts. I'll turn it down,” Stark tapped on the dark window next to his head, “Hey, kill the cold back here will you?”  
“Mama, are you well?”  
Eidra managed a smile for Fen who was still sitting forward, a worried look upon his young face, “ 'Twas a dream, sweet. Do not fret so.”  
As the warmth returned to her body, she began to rationalize what she had seen. Of course she had dreamed of ice, the cold air they pumped into their horseless carriages in the summer season made it feel like winter. Her senses had toyed with her mind, conjuring frightful scenes best left unexplored. And after all, it had only been a dream.  
“We're almost there anyway,” Stark pressed a button on the armrest at his side and the windows slid down, letting warm fresh air into the cabin, “Might as well acclimate ourselves now.”  
She felt Loki's kiss at her forehead, wiping away whatever remained of the dream to be replaced by anticipation, excitement. Soon their oldest child would graduate from her Midgardian school and they could leave Midgard far behind....for the time being.  
“Here we are,” Stark gestured out the window at the stone archway as they turned into the drive, “Chez Caprice.”  
“Tony,” Pepper poked him in the ribs, “Don't be rude.”  
“I'm not,” Stark shot Eidra a wink, “You ready to see Brenna walk across that stage with a diploma?”  
Eidra nodded. Whatever would speed them home.


	9. 9

The final strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” reverberated through the gymnasium, leaving in its wake the whispers of conversation and the creak of metal as people shifted in their seats, waving to their sons or daughters seated in three divided rows before the raised stage at the opposite end of the basketball court, or scanned the neighboring crowd for parents they knew.   
More than a few eyes fell upon Loki and his brother sitting tall beside him and it took all he had left not to return their hard stares. Eidra had ready scolded him once for snipping at Thor and he detested being upbraided before strangers. Fen rose higher in his seat, waving to Brenna who had at last spotted them. In response, she stuck out her tongue though she wore a good natured smile upon her face.  
“Imagine sharing your rite of passage amidst a sea of total strangers,” Loki muttered half to himself, felt Eidra nudge him with her knee.  
“What speak you?” Thor turned to him.  
“This,” Loki dismissed the crowd with a sweep of his hand, “...this graduation. It is a rite of passage for Midgardian children is it not? Such affairs should be personal, spent with one's peers, one's elders, family not....surrounded by the rabble.”  
“You think yourself above everyone,” Thor grunted, his seat groaning as he leaned back, arms crossed.  
“On Midgard?” Loki adopted the same pose, avoiding Eidra's scalding glare, “Of course.”  
Thor said nothing, simply shook his head as people around him began to applaud.  
“Welcome,” boomed Henry McCoy's voice over the loudspeakers, “...to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters twenty twenty-seven commencement ceremonies....”  
“Doctor McCoy is a senator now,” Pepper whispered in Eidra's ear, “..and one of the school's founders.”  
Eidra nodded politely. She would have to ask Brenna what a senator was when she had the chance though she guessed it was something important if it beared remarking upon.  
“.....seventy-five students will be receiving their diplomas upon this stage,” Doctor McCoy continued, “during its first official commencement, this school graduated a handful of young women and men....brave souls ready to venture out and find their place in the world...”  
Loki focused on the back of Brenna's head as Doctor McCoy continued his address, letting the words fade away as his thoughts drifted back to Asgard. It was hard to imagine that soon he would once again be seeing his eldest child every day. She would ride to the palace with him, attend court, learn to become a proper lady, perhaps find a suitable husband. Of course he would have to approve of the man and there were a few he could steer her toward. Ulrick, son of Ulm. Ulm was captain of the royal guard before Silas, his son was now Silas's second in command. Then there was Kante, brother to Garick who was on the High Council, a far better match even if Garick had chosen to marry the Midgardian agent Lily. Kante was young and handsome, a fine horseman too. Once she settled down, ultimately she would decide to stay on Asgard and abandon the idea of returning to Midgard on that fool's errand she called college...  
“Loki?”  
He looked to Eidra who sat beside him applauding, her eyes locked with his own, “Did you hear one word Mister McCoy said?”  
“I did indeed,” Loki broke her gaze to nod toward the stage, “He is well spoken for a Midgardian, is he not?”  
“Mmmm,” she countered with a solid jab of her elbow at his arm.  
“Papa, Mister Stark is at the dais!” Fen whispered as the applause died away.  
“”My joy is boundless,” Loki folded his arms waiting for Eidra to give him another good poke but it never came.  
On stage, Stark removed the dark glasses he'd been sporting and laid them on the podium before him, scanning the crowd with a serious mien as he bent the microphone down.  
“What's the one thing you've been told from the day you were born?”   
An uneasy silence descended over the entire assembly as Stark punctuated his question with a wide smile.  
“What has been drilled into your head as soon as you were old enough to understand? You're different. Different from normal people. Some of you look different, some of you act different but you've always been......different. Well I'm here to shatter that illusion. I hate to disappoint you fine upstanding men and women but you're not all that unusual.”  
A few giggles rose into the air, a murmured “hey” and Stark winked at the protester.  
“In fact you're pretty normal. When you leave this school today, most of you will be going out to join the working masses and you'll want the same things they do, a good job, a nice house, someone to grow old and have children with. Maybe a fast car sitting in the garage beside the family van but make no mistake, you will simply be just another face in the crowd. Yes, your abilities make you unique, never doubt that but you cannot rely on what makes you different to make a life for yourself....I mean the days of P.T. Barnum are long past...for the most part..”  
Laughter broke over the crowd.  
“Nowadays you risk prosecution and fear. It's a harsh reality but there it is. Am I telling you to hide in the shadows for the rest of your days? No. I am telling you to be comfortable in your own skin and make a life with the other god-given talents you were born with. A brilliant mind, a kind soul, a caring heart, the will to succeed, the drive to make the world around you a better place apart from all you are. Look beyond yourself to the greater good. Revel in the normal, bask in the ordinary for they are the building blocks of life, the secret to happiness,” here Stark paused to scan the crowd once more, “But never forget what makes you special, what sets you apart from one another..”   
Stark picked up his sunglasses, held them in front of him and snapped them in half before sliding out from behind the podium and dropping down from the stage to walk up the middle aisle, stopping beside Brenna.  
“Because,” Starks voice rang out, “being different is what makes you unique.”  
He handed the glasses to Brenna and nodded. A moment later she placed them, whole once more, into his outstretched hand.  
“...what makes you who you are.”  
The assembly erupted into thunderous applause broken only by the scratch of the microphone being readjusted by Miss Munroe.  
“Your daughter's friend Rachel is Valedictorian,” Pepper pointed to the program in Eidra's hand, “She has to give her own speech to her fellow classmates.”  
“More speaking?” Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the tendrils of a headache start behind his temples, “The gods wept.”  
“What is wrong, brother? Does it pain you to have to listen to someone else besides yourself for once?”  
Loki turned to Thor, “As long as it is not you 'pon yon dais, I shall be content.”  
Thor's low chuckle was lost to the hoots and whistles as Rachel took her place behind the podium. A murmur rose from the people seated to his right. A minute later he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Stark smiling at him behind Pepper's back.  
“How'd I do boss?”  
“Grandiloquent as always,” Loki shrugged off his hand.  
“Aw, and I was trying to be humble too.”  
“Ha! I hardly think such a word exists in your repertoire!”  
“That makes two of us, I'd say...”  
“Hush the both of you,” Pepper hissed, “You're being disrespectful!”  
Loki sat back with a loud sigh, board straight in his chair, relaxing only when he felt Eidra's arm slip into the crook of his elbow. At her touch, a comfortable peace descended upon him. He drew her closer, leaning into her side, “My heart...”  
“Shhh,” she laid her head on his shoulder, “Listen.”  
Trying his very best to pay attention, he gazed up at the podium where his eldest daughter's friend had by then taken her place and was now smiling down at her fellow classmates, but the ache, which had settled itself deep into his head, overpowered any remaining capacity to concentrate on anything save Eidra's hand stroking his bicep. So distracted was he that he very nearly jumped from his chair when applause erupted about him.  
“What a lovely speech,” Eidra tugged at his arm, “Loki? Did you hear a word of it?”  
“Of course,” he lied, closing his eyes against the glare from the overhead lights of the gym. A faint rumble reverberated through the walls, causing a murmur to arise among the crowd as Miss Munroe returned to the podium.  
“Good thing this shindig was held inside today or we'd be running for cover,” Stark whispered to Pepper, “Course little Miss Weathergirl up there would have taken care of it I'm sure,” his head swung about to Loki as he cocked a thumb toward the stage, “She'd be good to have around for a picnic...”  
“They're starting to hand out the diplomas,” Pepper opened the clutch purse she'd brought and drew out her phone, “I'll get you pictures of Brenna.”  
One by one the students were called to the stage to receive a small ribbon tied scroll and a black leather bound folder. Loki leaned forward in his chair, gaze centered on the back of Brenna's head. So focused was he that he didn't realize her name had been called until she stood up, making her way down the row to the steps to the left of the stage.   
There were hollers, whistles from the students as she took the scroll from Miss Munroe and beaming, held it up in the air.  
Applause broke out once more. Beside him, Eidra and Fen held their hands above their heads clapping as hard as they might. Fen let out a whoop.  
“Bren!”  
“I am so very proud!” Eidra cried, her voice a-tremble, “Oh Loki! How well our daughter has done!”  
Loki watched Brenna scan the audience until her eyes settled upon him. Only then did he clasp his hands together, raising them up to her with a grin and her smile grew wider still. Taking the leather folder, she continued down the stairs at the opposite end of the stage, returning to her seat where she was swallowed by hugs and laughter.  
Loki felt a tap on his shoulder, turned to see Stark reaching around behind Eidra, “Congratulations. You are the proud parents of an adult. Now comes the hard part....telling them they'll have to work for a living.”  
“Hardly,” Loki sniffed, “She will learn to be a lady at court now this is all behind her.”  
“You give her everything on a silver platter, you're only going to spoil her,” Stark shook his head, “But on your head be it.”  
A great clatter of chairs being moved brought their attention forward to see the students on their feet facing the audience. Up on the stage, Miss Munroe had retaken the podium.  
“I would like to present to you the graduating class of twenty twenty-seven!”  
The roar of the assembly drowned the rumble of thunder outside the gymnasium doors as everyone rose from their chairs, rushing to congratulate their children.  
“She honors Asgard with such an achievement,” Thor clapped Loki on the back, making him wince, “What a scholar she will make.”  
“Hardly,” he sniffed as they started forward, urged along by Fen who was fairly hopping over the vacant chairs to make his own headway to Brenna, “She will be a lady. I will not have her sitting in that ancient library surrounded by dusty tomes and elderly leches.”  
“Actually, she wanted to be a nurse,” Stark interjected to his right, “At least I think that was still her course of study but it's entirely up to her isn't it.”  
“Indeed it is,” Eidra nodded, taking Loki's hand in an iron grip, “Goodness, Fen has already reached her.”  
Up ahead, Fen had thrown his arms about Brenna's neck in a great hug, relegating Loki's irritation with Stark to so much background interference as he regarded his firstborn who had at last seen them, beckoning them forward with an ecstatic smile. All at once, he felt a great surge of pride. She had come to live in a different world, learned their culture, their history all in short order.   
“She will be whatever she wishes.....after she has learned to be a lady,” he murmured in Eidra's ear.  
A knowing grin crossed her lips as she took Brenna's face in her hands and kissed her forehead.

 

“.....a maiden fair with long golden hair, whose hand he had come to claim...,” Ingrid sang, pulling the coverlet up over the down pillows at the head of the bed. She glanced at Edie who stood at the window staring out into the dooryard and the song died in her throat. What she wouldn't give for the child to be able to sing along.   
“Better pray to the gods a bit more,” she sighed as she smoothed the coverlet down.  
Excited grunts from Edie brought Ingrid about. Edie stood, palms against the glass, smiling. Ingrid came up behind her to look down into the dooryard as Cait came rushing into the bedchamber.  
“Mama and Papa are home!”  
“Indeed they are....do not run down that staircase!”  
But Cait was already out the door. From the bedchamber beside her she heard Helgi yell, “Now where do you think you are off to? Astrid, take my hand......Brynn! You are as slippery as any fish...”  
Ingrid smiled, her former melancholia forgotten. Eidra and Loki were home at last along with Brenna and Fen. The family was together once more. She hurried out of the bedchamber to join the others. There would be much to do.

 

END


End file.
